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Harlowe
Harlowe is a neighborhood within the district of Hutton in Norrilund. It makes up the majority of the triangle bounded by Harlowe Road and Mercantile Road. The neighborhood's poverty is featured prominently in the scandal sheets and Parliamentary reports. The working class are the dominant class in the area, but middle class homes and shops line the main thoroughfares of Harlowe and Mercantile Roads. Much of the population is Ust and Dalkhrovan, and poor immigrants from all around the world call Harlowe home. Most of these immigrants are transient and drunken, renting a bed or bench as they have the money. The public fountains and standpipes draw a constant stream of residents, who have to bathe in the open. People are sleeping in gutters, publicly relieving themselves, or even have sex in the alleys. The hotels and flop houses are frequently rented out by sailors in town for a few days and looking for the cheap thrills of the district. The streets of the area are packed with sales carts offering every kind of inexpensive goods from food products to furniture, books to boots, to second-hand clothes. By day, the district is clogged with food and vehicle traffic, and animals are much more common to see than in other parts of the city. The rats in this area of town are bold and can be seen scuttling around the walls of the buildings. Dogs, cats, and the occasional farm animal roam the alleys. Crime and Poverty The other pleasures of Harlowe are well-known and are frequently written about with concern by the newspapers and charitable societies. Prostitution, gambling dens, dog and rat fighting establishments, gin shops, and opium dens draw fire from do-gooders in the city. These dark entertainments draw all levels of society, from the most base to the aristocracy. These illicit activities feed one of the most profitable of business sectors: crime. Organized gangs run certain areas of Harlowe, specializing in various "services". Robbery teams run the streets, especially at night, preying on the gentlemen slumming in Hutton. They know that the embarrassment of even being in Harlowe will keep their marks quiet; a gentleman in Harlowe at night would be well advised to carry a sword cane or revolver. Protection is the most lucrative, the shaking down prostitutes and businesses, punishing people who "blow the gab" to the watch, or warning of the occasional police raid. Some of the larger gangs are even rumored to have judges on their payrolls. Frequently, these gangs aren't just based on geographic position, such as a specific block of the district, but also along family and ethnic lines. Rookeries dot the landscape in Harlowe, ranging from lone buildings to entire blocks of tenements. These rookeries are sanctuaries for criminals and gangs protect them fiercely. Police avoid these havens unless a raid is conducted in force. Even the low streets and alleys are considered dangerous for the copper who is not on the payroll of that particular gang, or has a reputation fearsome enough to stave off attack. Sites in Harlowe The main guilty pleasures of the neighborhood are mostly set out on Harlowe's eponymous road: music-halls, theatres, and large public houses which feature a singer or small band, darts competitions, and other cheap entertainments. The most respectable of the theatres is the Rat's Capitol, although the quality of the bill is questionable. There is the famed Ill Tidings Pub on the corner of Mercantile Road and East Buckle Street, which offers excellent beer brewed on the premises since 1327. The food is good enough to draw workers from the nearby banking centres. Mellows Pub, located a few blocks farther out, has gained a certain notoriety: one of the victims of the Harlowe Stalker, Gracie Golden, was a frequent customer. Unlike the larger or more prosperous industry of the rest of the city, the factories and shops here tend to work their employees longer, harder, and dismiss them for any reason. Chemical works like matchmakers, drug manufacturers, and dye-makers are common throughout the district and give the place its characteristic sulphurous scent. Cheap weaving and dressmaking, tinker, tailors hire many from the area. Nob's Brewery is on Crow Lane and is a major employer in the area. Harlowe Road is also home to the Whitefields Workhouse, Norrilund Hospital, and the Trews Almshouse, where the poor are provided a place to stay for the night and a simple meal. Map Continue on * North: Farthingtown * South: Canalside * West: Scartown * Northwest: Medley Category:Neighborhoods of Hutton